Russia, Pakistan Agree To Afghan Drugs Cooperation

Drug control agencies from Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan have agreed to step up cooperation to stop the flow of drugs through Afghan borders.

Russia's drug czar Viktor Ivanov said the agreement envisions the training of personnel, information exchange, and joint operative measures.

The signing of the deal follows an unprecedented drug raid jointly conducted by U.S., Afghan and Russian agents on the Pakistan border in October.

Afghanistan produces about 90 percent of the world's opium.

Moscow has been urging the U.S. military to take stronger action against Afghan drug labs, which process unrefined opium into heroin or morphine.

Russia has around 2 million opium and heroin addicts.

compiled from agency reports